Us Indian Migrants Mass Depotation Expenses: The US used C-17 American military aircraft to deport 205 Indian migrants living illegally. These migrants will arrive in the afternoon on Wednesday (5 February). The immigration policy of the Trump administration is once again in discussion with this move of exile from military aircraft. The US has also used chartered planes and military aircraft to deport migrants from other countries.
The expenditure on the use of military aircraft is quite heavy. According to reports, the operation cost of the C-17 Military Transport Aircraft is $ 28,500 per hour (about Rs 24.82 lakh). Another official said that the army has not calculated the total cost of these flights yet, but the estimated cost of a 12 -hour flight could be around $ 252,000 (about Rs 2.20 crore). According to the US Customs and Immigration Enforcement (ICE), a chartered flight costs $ 17,000 per flight for 135 exile, which usually lasts up to 5 hours. This means that per capita cost is $ 630 (about 52,000 rupees).
Cost of C-17 and C-130E aircraft
According to the Reuters report, the C-17 operating cost is $ 21,000 per hour (as per 2022), while the C-30E aircraft has the operating cost between $ 68,000 to $ 71,000 per hour. This means that the cost of a 12-hour C-17 flight can be around $ 252,000, while the C-130E flight costs 816,000 to 852,000 $ 852,000.
Why use military aircraft for exile?
According to the report of Indian Express, using military aircraft is filled with symbolism. The Trump administration believes that these steps are part of giving strict message against illegal immigrants. Trump has often called illegal immigrants ‘criminals’ and ‘alien’, who have ‘invaded’ the US. The scene of exile from military aircraft empowers the message that Trump is harsh towards such crimes.
Trump’s stance: strictness on illegal migrants
Recently, talking to Republican MPs, Trump said, “For the first time in history, we are finding illegal foreigners and sending them back to their countries by filling them in military aircraft.” Trump insisted that he wanted to deport the illegal immigrants in custody for a long time instead of staying for a long time. In this case, the Departation Flight for India is the longest exile flight ever. Earlier, the US also fired exile to Guatemala, Peru, Honduras, and Ecuador.
New twist in America’s immigration policy
The use of military aircraft in the collective exile of migrants with illegal status from the US has given a new twist in immigration policy. The Trump administration has presented this action as a strict message against illegal immigrants. However, the cost of these exile flights is extremely heavy, which is making this action a topic of discussion.
Also read: Trump’s big action against India, first flight filled with ‘illegal migrants’ leaves for India, Indians being sent by C-17 military aircraft